(Photo: feedytv.com)

A: Welcome to VOV24/7’s Food Delight, we’re…..

B: Hey A, have you got any plans for this summer? 

I’ve just returned from a Myanmar trip with my family on my annual leave.

A: Wow! Great! Myanmar is “The Land of Pagodas”. There are numerous temples and pagodas throughout the country. When in Myanmar, don’t miss the Golden Pagoda, U Bein Bridge, Inle Lake, and the Golden Rock Pagoda.

B: You’re right. Beside sightseeing and taking lots of photos, be sure to explore the local cuisine. Myanmar is famous for milky tea, sweet snacks, different kinds of noodles, curries, and tea leaf salad. If you visit Myanmar, I highly recommend you try tea leaf salad, which is a typical dish of Myanmar.

A: I’ve heard about it. Maybe I’ll try it this year.

Tea is a popular drink in many countries, but in Myanmar, they don’t just drink tea, they eat it, too. Tea leaf salad is called laphet thoke by the Burmese people.

B: Joining us today is Ei Ei Mon who comes from Nyaung U Township in Myanmar. Hi Ei Ei Mon, what actually is in tea leaf salad?

Ei Ei Mon: “Burmese people prefer it. Many people like it as a snack, we eat it everyday. Tea salad ingredients are tea leaves, tomato, chili, sesame seeds, dry shrimp, vegetable oil, fried beans, salt, chicken powder, and lime. Not fresh tea leaves”.

A: Many people think making a salad is not time-consuming, because all you have to do is take a few simple ingredients and mix everything together. But that’s not true in this case.

B: The most time-consuming part of making tea leaf salad is preparing the tea leaves. As you know, tea leaves have a bitter taste. To reduce the bitterness, Myanmar people do as follows:

A: The tea leaves are soaked in hot water for around 10 minutes until the leaves expand and become soft. Next, drain the leaves and remember to remove any tough bits. Squeeze out any remaining liquid from the tea leaves as thoroughly as possible. Ei Ei Mon will tell us what to do next:

Ei Ei Mon: “Tea leaves we wash in cool water. We keep the tea leaves for one week or two weeks. These tea leaves were already put in the fridge for one week. Tomato, we cut into small pieces. We cut the chili and lime, add vegetable oil, and chicken powder. Tea leaves are washed and put in a bowl. Add the tomato and mix everything.”

B: Finally, sprinkle the sesame seeds, or roasted peanuts or add some fried garlic chips. I bet tea leaf salad will surprise you with its strong fragrance of tea leaves combined with chicken powder - tomatoes, and lime.

A: If you want to please your eyes, place a bed of lettuce on a large plate, and place the tea leaf salad on the bed of lettuce surrounded by fried garlic, peanuts, tomatoes, and sesame seeds.

B: We hope you are happy with our cuisine suggestions. Join us again next time for more ideas. Goodbye.